Holiday Shopper Takes a Claim for Mom By Robert Warne - December 5, 2003 After examining an Orange City, Florida woman’s claims history, officials realize they may be dealing with a professional in the case of Patricia VanLester, who was mowed down by rabid holiday shoppers as she picked out a gift for her mom the day after Thanksgiving.
VanLester was first in line at her local Wal-Mart for a $29 DVD player when the clock struck 6:00am, and the sale began Nov. 28. She successfully retrieved the box, but as she returned to her sister’s shopping cart she was thrown to the ground by a wall of anxious bargain hunters.
Lying on top of the DVD box unconscious, VanLester reportedly suffered a seizure and had to be medivaced to the hospital.
Her sister, Linda Ellzey told the Orlando Sentinel that, “She got pushed down, and they walked over her like a herd of elephants.”
The incident provided more than enough fixings of a hefty holiday claim.
But now the Associated Press has reported that VanLester is a seasoned claimant. Last Friday’s incident qualifies her for her tenth claim against her former employer, Wal-Mart from which she has received thousands of dollars from injury and workers’ compensation claims.
Despite VanLester’s solid track record, this will be a sticky one for Wal-Mart to fight because of the national attention the story received and because there are conflicting reports about how the giant retailer handled the incident.
|